


Shooting Stars

by Dream_In_Color



Category: Original Work
Genre: Camping, Family, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Feels, Ficlet, Gen, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Short One Shot, Twins, seriously short like barely over 700 words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 05:57:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15090461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dream_In_Color/pseuds/Dream_In_Color
Summary: Just before he lost himself in sleep, he saw another star shoot across the sky. He squeezed his eyes shut and wished and prayed, just this once, for a miracle. To stay forever, no work or school to go back to. Just stay like this for the rest of their lives.orA short "anecdote" about a family camping trip.





	Shooting Stars

**Author's Note:**

> This was a short story I wrote for one of my university classes. It originated as an "anecdote" exercise and even though it never got very long, I was pretty proud of how it turned out so I figured *shrugs* why not...
> 
> Constructive criticism, kudos, and other comments are always appreciated.

They were about 13. Jase pushed his brother out of the way, squinting to see out of the telescope. Jimmy pushed back and their father told them to behave. Jase went back to searching the night sky.

“Find any UFOs yet?” Jimmy snickered. Jase doesn’t remember what he replied, but it earned him a look from their dad. Jimmy handed his twin a marshmallow on a stick, gesturing toward the campfire. Jase sat down next to his brother, looked across the fire; saw the flames reflected in his dad’s eyes, alongside a smile.  The warmth from the fire made the boys shiver, the surrounding night air feeling colder by comparison. The twins scooted a bit closer to each other.

“You know, I used to camp like this with your grandpa and my siblings.” Dad said. Jase asked what he’d been like. Dad said the typical stuff, that he was kind but tough and strong. He was smart and loyal but he had a bit of a temper. “After your grandma died, we stopped coming out here.”

Jimmy asked what she’d been like. Dad said he didn’t remember much, had forgotten a lot over the years; he’d only been about their age when she’d died. But he said she was beautiful, generous, kind.

“What was Mom like?” Jase heard himself ask before he could stop. He watched the smile slip slightly from his father’s face. Jimmy stared at the ground, waiting.

“She was brilliant.” Dad started. They’d never really talked about it; they don’t even have any pictures of her. “You get your artistic abilities from her side of the family.” he said, and that stuck with Jase. He wishes he’d known her, been able to share their art. “You get your red hair from her too.” Jase reached a hand up to pull a bit at his bangs, just enough to catch a glimpse of the sanguine color in the firelight. He looked at Jimmy’s almost-black hair mirrored by their dad’s. They sat in silence for a few moments, eating marshmallows and watching the stars.

Jimmy pointed up at something, a shooting star. A flying saucer. His brother laughed, elbowing him in the side, telling him to grow up. His father said it could be, and Jase stuck his tongue out at his twin, but he closed his eyes and made a wish anyway, just in case. Then he picked up his camera and started snapping pictures.

Only the chirp of insects and the _click_ of the camera’s shutter broke the silence of the clearing. Jase smiled at the screen of his camera, admiring the atmosphere he’d managed to capture. Looking back up at his family, sitting under the stars, he wished they could be like this all the time. He wanted this Jimmy, not the one who picked on him and stole his stuff and laughed at his photos. He wanted this Dad, not the one who was too busy with work to notice anything apart from whether his children were still breathing.

He locked eyes with Jimmy, who smiled slightly back at him. He asked if he could see the photo, so Jase held the camera out. Jimmy smiled at the photo, saying something about it being really nice. Jase thanked him, pointing out that Jimmy had never complimented his photos before. His brother shrugged, turning back to the fire.

Jase put his camera away, zipping the bag closed, and climbed into his sleeping bag. Jimmy followed, climbing into his own just a few feet away. Their dad smiled at them and grabbed his guitar, strumming lightly, humming the lullaby they’d grown up with. The twins exchanged goodnights with each other and Dad, letting the music drown out the crickets and cicadas. Just before Jase lost himself in sleep, he saw another star shoot across the sky. He squeezed his eyes shut and wished and prayed, just this once, for a miracle. To stay forever, no work or school to go back to. Just stay like this for the rest of their lives. A single tear dropped from his eye and rolled down his cheek as he fell asleep, knowing despite what he’d just wished for, how hard he’d wished for it, that it would have to end eventually.


End file.
